Cabinet Floor-Platform Terminology
Most cabinetmakers are familiar with the idea of a ladder-shaped platform for mounting base cabinets in certain situations. But what do you call the pieces of that assembly? July 29, 2007
Question
Well, somehow we got into a discussion about the name of this toe-kick part. Canvassing everyone on the floor and in the office we came up with several different names. No one really seemed to be sure. I will post the names we came up with after we get some of your suggestions.
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Forum Responses
(CAD Forum)
From contributor P:
Stretcher, would be my guess.
From contributor L:
It's also known as a toekick ladder.
From contributor K:
I've heard of sleepers before, but the ladder is a new one on me. Our shop just calls the two assembled parts L-cleats.
From contributor E:
We call them stretchers but have used ladder and spanner as well.
From contributor C:
We call them ladders because that is what they look like if you build one for a long run of cabinets. It is definitely the best way to install units when floors are uneven - shim, level the ladder, and away you go.
From contributor S:
Stretcher?
From contributor E:
Main Entry: 1stretch•er
Pronunciation: 'stre-ch&r
Function: noun
1 a : one that stretches; especially : a device or machine for stretching or expanding something b : an exaggerated story : a tall tale
2 a : a brick or stone laid with its length parallel to the face of the wall b : a timber or rod used especially when horizontal as a tie in framed work
From the original questioner:
Thanks everyone for the suggestions. As I had said in the original post, I'd tell what part names we came up for this, after hearing some of your suggestions.
We came up with: "screw down," "kick nailer," and "sleeper."
Is ladder the name for the entire toe-kick assembly or is it more specific than that? Our Australian brother had some interesting terms for all the parts. I like the term "kick brace."
From contributor L:
Ladder would be the whole assembly.
From contributor B:
We do TK f/b for toekick front and back, then TK mids for the stretchers/mid pieces. We usually make the horizontal mids the same width as the vertical mids. If they need to be different, we call it TK tops. I suppose you could call it TK mid hoz and TK mid vert as well. I like terminology that can be as short as possible, like four letters, and still be descriptive.
